Relay apparatus with hermetic seal construction



RELAY APPARATUS WITH HERMETIC SEAL CONSTRUCTION Sept. 28, 1965 w. c. KLAMMER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug.

IN VEN TOR.

WILLIAM C. KLAMMER ATTORNEYS Sept. 28, 1965 w. c. KLAMMER RELAY APPARATUS WITH HERMETIC SEAL CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 25, 1961 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM C. KLAMMER ATTORNEYS and cover.

19 lie.

plate 14 as by spot welding. The brackets 19 include a United States Patent 3,209,103 RELAY APPARATUS WITH HERMETIC SEAL CONSTRUCTION William C. Klammer, Mankato, Minn., assignor to Aemco, Inc., Mankato, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Filed Aug. 25, 1961, Ser. No. 133,995 3 Claims. (Cl. 200168) This invention relates to a relay and more particularly to a relay assembly adapted for use with coaxial cables to produce switching in a desired atmosphere.

In many phases of modern technology there is a need for relays which are extremely small or adapted for miniaturization and which may be used with coaxial cables. It is frequently desirable to maintain a predetermined atmosphere at the contacts of the relay and around the coil and moving armature so as to assure proper operation. Such relays must be con-fined within a true hermetically sealed enclosure.

An object of the invention is to provide a new and improve-d relay of simple and inexpensive construction and operation.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel relay construction wherein the operating mechanism of the relay is confined within a hermetically sealed enclosure.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved miniature relay construction adapted for attachment to a coaxial cable and maintained in hermetically sealed condition.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a new and novel header construction for transmitting electrical signals therethrough while maintaining the opposite sides of the header in electrically. sealed relation with respect to each other.

These and other objects of the invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like refer ence characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which: a

FIG. 1 is a perspective substantially full sized view of .the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevation view with a portion of the case being broken away and certain of the parts FIG. 4 and viewed along a line as indicated at 5-5 in FIG. 4.

One form of the invention is shown in the drawings and is described herein.

The relay construction is indicated in general by numeral and includes a rigid metal case indicated in general by numeral 11, which includes a header 12 and a cover 13. The header 12 includes a steel panel 14 having an outer periphery 15 identical in shape to the open end 16 of the cover 13 and fitted therein in tight-fitting relation. A soldered seal 17 is provided between the plate 14 and cover 13 around the entire periphery of the plate so as to provide a hermetic sealing relation between the plate In the form shown, the cover 13 is formed of a nickel-silver alloy, but could as well be constructed of some other material such as brass.

The opposite sides of the header plate 14 have shallow recesses 18 in which the ends of relay mounting brackets The mounting brackets 19 are fixed to the header 3,209,103 Patented Sept. 28, 1965 bridging portion 20 formed integrally thereof and spaced from the header 12 for mounting the relay coil 21 and the movable armature 22 which pivots about a knife edge 23 of frame member 24. The inner portion 22a of the armature has an extension rod 25 aflixed thereto which carries an insulating glass ball or bead 26 on the end thereof for operating the movable contact 27. The relay includes spring wire-s 28 which continuously urge the armature against the knife edge 23.

The movable relay contact 27 will be seen to be substantially U-shaped and has opposite leg portions 29 and 30 which extend toward the header 12 and also has an intermediate portion 31 interconnecting said legs. The movable contact 27 is substantially flat and planar in shape and oriented substantially normal to the header plate 14 so as to permit the leg 30 to move freely between stationary contacts or obstructions 32 and 33, hereinafter more fully described. The leg 29 has a substantially U-shaped otfset portion 29a which is apertured at 29b and is mounted on a pin-like conductor member 34 which is aflixed to the header plate 14. The leg 29 as hereinafter more fully described, is soldered to the pin-like conductor member 34, and is twisted slightly out of the plane of the movable contact 27 about the axis of the pin-like conductor member 34 so as to normally bias the leg 30 against the stationary contact 32. It will be noted that the contact member 27 is constructed of a resiliently flexible and highly conductive material such as noble metal alloy.

The header 12 also includes a plurality of rigid sleeves 37 which are constructed of a steel alloy which in the present instance is a nickel-steel alloy, very similar or identical to the header plate 14. The sleeves 37 have inner ends which extend into apertures 35 of the header plate and have outer ends which extend from the outer side of the header plate 14. The header plate 14 also has apertures 36 therein.

The sleeves '37 are brazed around their outer peripheries at 38 to the header plate 14. It is important to note that the brazing of sleeves 37 produces .a true hermetic seal to prevent passage of gas therebetween and also produces a sound electrical connection. Conductor members 34, 39, 40 and 41 extendthro-ugh the openings of sleeves 37 and through the apertures 36 in substantially concentric relation with the openings and apertures. The conductor members 34, 39, 40 and 41 are secured to and insulated from the sleeves and header plate by a plurality of glass annuli 42, the inner and outer peripheries of which are fused to and integral with the adjoining metal of gas through the header 12.

The conductor members 41 are identical with each other and are solid conductors of a nickel-iron or nickelsteel alloy which is similar or identical to the alloy used in sleeves 37 and plate .14 so as to have a compatible coefficient of expansion with the glass in the annuli 42 and thereby permit the proper fusing between the glass and conductor members 41.

All of the conductor members 34, 39 and 40 are substantially identical with each other and an understanding of one of these conductor members will suffice for an under-standing of all of the conductor members. The conductor member 39 includes a tube 43 and a stranded central conductor 44 within the tube 43 in snug-fitting relation and soldered thereto to fill the spaces between the strands of conductor 44 and produce a hermetic seal between the conductor 44 and tube 43 and thereby prevent passage of gas centrally through the tube 43. The tube 43 essentially comprises the outer periphery of conductor member 39 and is constructed of a metal suitable for fusing to the glass annulus 42 and in the form shown, the tube 43 is of a nickel-iron or nickel-steel alloy similar to. that of sleeves 37 and plate 14.

The central conductor 44 constitutes a portion of a coaxial cable indicated in general by numeral 45. The coaxial cable includes the central conductor 44, an inner insulation 46 surrounding the central conductor, a braided conductor 47 surrounding the inner insulation 46 and an outer insulation 48 surrounding the braid 47.

The cable 45 is permanently attached to the header 12 and has the inner insulation disposed in abutting end-toend relation with the tube 43 and with a portion of the inner periphery of the glass annulus 42. A rigid conducconstructed of brass in the present disclosure and is fitted into the outer end of sleeve 37 in tight-fitting relation.

The entire outer periphery of sleeve 49 is soldered to the inner periphery of sleeve 37 to produce a hermetic sealed relation and to physically retain the sleeve 49 in the sleeve -37. The metallic braid 47 is flared and soldered to the inner end of sleeve 49 so as to produce a sound electrical connection therebetween. An insulating outer sleeve 50 is applied over the inner portion of cable 45 and is telescoped over the brass sleeve 49 to minimize the bending of the cable in immediate proximity'with the header.

It -will be recognized that the conductor members 34, 39 and 40 .appear at the inner side of the header as rigid pins.

The leg 29 is applied to the conductor member 34 as previously denoted and is soldered thereto tobe physically held in the desired position and to produce a sound electrical connection between the contact member 27 and the conductor member 34 and particularly the central conductor 44 thereof.

The stationary contacts 33 and 32 are formed of substantially rigid wire having the contact-forming outer ends thereof disposed on opposite sides of the plane or be noted in the drawings that the solder beads 44a are eliminated in FIGS. 4 and 5 for clarity of detail but are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. It will be seen that the stationary contact wire 32 is slightly longer than the wire 33.

It is important to note that the space within the case 11 is completely hermetically sealed from the atmosphere at the exterior of the case. Plate 14 is soldered at the outer periphery to the cover 13 and is brazed at the apertures 35 to the sleeves 37. The glass annuli are fused to and integral with the plate 14 at apertures 36 and are fused to and integral with the sleeves 37; and the glass annuli are fused to and integral with the outer peripheries of each of the conductor members 34, 39, 40 and 41. The conductor members 41 are of solid construction and are connected at their inner ends to the operating coil 21 of the relay. The conductor members 34, 39 and .40 have the tubes 43 soldered to the stranded conductors 44 with the solder filling the spaces between the strands so as to produce a hermetic seal against longitudinal passage of It is also important t note that the tight-fitting relahaving movable and stationary contacts respectively contion between brass sleeve 49 and the outer insulation 48 produces a moisture seal so as to exclude moisture from the area adjacent the inner end of sleeve 49.

In operation, a control signal may be applied through the conductor members 41 to the operating coil 21 which causes shifting of the armature, whereupon the glass ball 26 moves the leg 30 of movable contact 27 away from stationary contact 32 and into engagement with contact 33. When the control signal is terminated, the resiliency of the contact member 27 returns the leg 30 thereof into engagement with stationary contact 32 and also returns the armature to the position shown.

It is of particular importance to note that the present relay 10 is well adapted for miniaturization and has actually been produced with the length of the case 11, to the front face of header 12 equalling thirteen sixteenths of an inch with the width equalling twenty-five thirty-seconds of an inch. The header 12 and case 11 continue the electro static shielding effect of the braid 47 of the cable and interconnect all of the braids of the several cables together. The stationary and movable contacts of the relay produce no material change in the impedance of the cables 45 In the form shown, the stationary contact wires 32 and 33 are constructed of a goldplatinum-silver alloy.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention which consists of the matter shown and described herein and set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A relay assembly comprising a hermetically sealed case including a metal header wall having inner sides and also having a pair of apertures therein, a pair of electrical cables each having a central conductor and an inner insulation surrounding said conductor and a conductive braid surrounding said inner insulation and an outer insulation surrounding said braid, a pair of first metal sleeves with inner ends affixed in respective apertures of the header wall and brazed to the wall in hermetically sealing relation with the wall around the entire periphery of the aperture, said first sleeves having outer ends protruding from the outer side of the headerwall, a plurality of metal tubes each disposed within a respective first sleeve in spaced relation therewith and projecting from the inner side of the header wall, a pair of glass annuli each disposed within a respective first sleeve and in surrounding relation with the corresponding tube, the inner and outer peripheries of said glass annuli being fused to and integral with the tubes and sleeves in hermetically sealed relation, said central conductors projecting through said tubes and being soldered thereto in hermetically sealing relation to prevent passage of gas endwise through the tube, a pair of second metal sleeves each in tight fitting relation around the outer insulation of a respective cable andeach being received in snug-fitting relation within a respective Ifirst metal sleeve, said second metal sleeves being soldered to the braids for providing electrical connection between the braid and the first metal sleeves and the header wall, -a relay within the case and nected with said tubes for producing electrical switching in relation to said central conductors of the cables and under a known atmosphere of desired pressure.

2. A relay assembly comprising a hermetically sealed case including a conductive header wall having inner and outer sides, a relay mounted within the case and having a coil and also having stationary and movable contacts, a pair of coaxial cables each having a central conductor with an inner insulation thereon and each also having a braided conductor encompassing said insulation and further having an outer insulating sheath encompassmg the braided conductor, said header wall having a pair 'of apertures therein, a pair of sleeves each having an outer end projecting outwardly from the headerwall and each having an inner end inserted into a respective aperture in close-fitting relation, means hermetically sealing each of the sleeves to the header wall and around the entire periphery of the corresponding aperture, a pair of metal tubes substantially smaller than said sleeves, each of said tubes having a first end projecting into the inner end of a respective sleeve and having a second end projecting inwardly from said wall, a pair of glass annuli each disposed within the inner end of a respective sleeve and encompassing the first end of the corresponding tube, the inner and outer peripheries of said annuli being integral in welded relation with said tubes and sleeves respectively and thereby creating a hermetic seal between the tubes and sleeves, said central conductors projecting through respective tubes in snug fitting relation and being soldered to said tubes around the entire inner peripheries thereof in hermetically sealed relation, and means within the outer end of the sleeves confining and securing the cables thereto and electrically connecting the braided conductors to the sleeves, means electrically connecting the contacts to the second ends of the tubes and mounting the contacts on the tubes, and conductors extending through, insulated from and hermetically sealed in the case and connected with the relay coil to supply energy thereto.

3. A header wall assembly for use with electrical apparatus to maintain different atmospheres on opposite sides thereof in isolation from each other, comprising a metal panel with front and rear sides and having an aperture therethrough, a steel alloy sleeve having an inner end in said aperture and being brazed around the entire periphery thereof to the panel in hermetically sealing relation, said sleeve also having an outer end projecting from the front side of the panel, a steel alloy tube having a first end disposed concentrically within said sleeve and spaced therefrom and having a second end projecting from the rear side of the panel, a glass annulus within said sleeve and surrounding said tube and having inner and outer peripheries fused to and integral with the tube and sleeve respectively, a conductor element extending inwardly through the tube and being soldered to the tube in hermetically sealing relation to prevent passage of gas endwise through the tube, an inner insulation on the conductor element, a metallic braid surrounding said inner insulation, an outer insulation surrounding the braid, the insulations and braid projecting into the sleeve, 9. second rigid metallic sleeve in tight-fitting relation on the outer insulation and being soldered to the braid and interfitted with said first mentioned sleeve and welded thereto in stationary and electrically conducting relation.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,401,213 5/46 Wood 200-166 2,636,072 4/53 Lamoureux 174-50 X 2,769,881 11/56 Hailes 200-166 2,868,925 1/59 Grotelueschen 200-168 2,916,584 12/59 Molyneux 200-166 X 2,926,318 2/60 Lanctot 200-104 X 2,938,067 5/ Werner 174-5061 X 2,951,135 8/60 Lazich 200-104 3,033,956 5/62 Juptner 200-87 X 3,100,813 8/63 Rice et al 174-5056 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Examiner. 

3. A HEADER WALL ASSEMBLY FOR USE WITH ELECTRICAL APPARATUS TO MAINTAIN DIFFERENT ATMOSPHERES ON OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF IN ISOLATION FROM EACH OTHER, COMPRISING A METAL PANEL WITH FRONT AND REAR SIDES AND HAVING AN APERTURE THERETHROUGH, A STEEL ALLOY SLEEVE HAVING AN INNER END IN SAID APERTURE AND BEING BRAZED AROUND THE ENTIRE PERIPHERY THEREOF TO THE PANEL IN HERMETICALLY SEALING RELATION, SAID SLEEVE ALSO HAVING AN OUTER END PROJECTING FROM THE FRONT SIDE OF THE PANEL, A STEEL ALLOY TUBE HAVING A FIRST END DISPOSED CONCENTRICALLY WITHIN SAID SLEEVE AND SPACED THEREFROM AND HAVING A SECOND END PROJECTING FROM THE REAR SIDE OF THE PANEL, A GLASS ANNULUS WITHIN SAID SLEEVE AND SURROUNDING SAID TUBE AND HAVING INNER AND OUTER PERIPHERIES FUSED TO AND INTEGRAL WITH THE TUBE AND SLEEVE RESPECTIVELY, A CONDUCTOR ELEMENT EXTENDING INWARDLY THROUGH THE TUBE AND BEING SOLDERED TO THE TUBE IN HERMETICALLY SEALING RELATION TO PREVENT PASSAGE OF GAS ENDWISE THROUGH THE TUBE, AN INNER INSULATION ON THE CONDUCTOR ELEMENT, A METALLIC BRAID SURROUNDING SAID INNER INSULATION, AN OUTER INSULATION SURROUNDING THE BRAID, THE INSULATIONS AND BRAID PROJECTING INTO THE SLEEVE, A SECOND RIGID METALIC SLEEVE IN TIGHT-FITTING RELATION ON THE OUTER INSULATION AND BEING SOLDERED TO THE BRAID AND INTERFITTED WITH SAID FIRST MENTIONED SLEEVE AND WELDED THERETO IN STATIONARY AND ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING RELATION. 